Buttonless shirt collar



Aug. 31, 1965 D. GAST 3,203,004

BUTTONLESS SHIRT COLLAR Filed Aug. 12, 1963 INVENTOR:

.DWIEHT EAST.

BY I

United States Patent This invention relates to shirts, and is more particularly directed to an adjustable neck size shirt having front margins of increased overlap in the collar area to compensate for such adjustment.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shirt with a triangular extension on the underlying front margin so that upon expansion of the neck size the front margins do not gap.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shirt with an upper botton positioned between the normal neck band button location and the second button, such upper button cooperating with an elongated horizontal button hole to retain the front margins of the shirt in overlapped position when the neck size is increased.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buttonless shirt collar positioned by a necktie or the like by which collar adjustments may be made to fit variations in the size of the neck of the wearer.

Generally speaking the invention is inclusive of a shirt and collar therefor attached to an upper annular edge or to a neck band, the shirt having overlying front margins, at least one of which is extended or provided with an extension adjacent said upper edge, which permits the collar size to be adjusted without producing a gap between the front margins of the shirt. The normal top button is omitted or lowered to a point on said extension between the upper annular edge of the shirt and the usual second button, and a cooperating horizontally disposed elongated button hole is provided in the other front margin to permit said margins to spread without gapping.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be understood best by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fagmentary front elevation of a shirt made in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary detail View of another embodiment of the invention showing one of the front margins of a shirt similar to that shown in FIG. 1 but having a neck band on the collar;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing still another form of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a top edge view of the margin of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of the present invention is shown. in FIG. 1. The upper portion of a shirt has been illustrated as including a body enclosing portion provided with front panel sections 11 and 12. The margin 14 of section 11 is provided with a fastening means, such as a button 15 which may be the usual second button from the top of the shirt which engages a button hole 17 in the margin 18 of section 12. Margin 18 normally overlies margin 14 when the shirt 10 is buttoned, the usual series of spaced fastening means or buttons (not shown) vertically aligned below button 15 being provided. This shirt 10 shown has its upper end defined by an annular edge line 20 at the collar section, the collar 22 being stitched directly to such upperannular edge 20 as in a sport type shirt. This collar 22 may be of the usual double thickness stitched together at 24 to form a lower external edge 25 which normally ex tends below upper edge 20 where the collar 22 is joined to the shirt 10.

The margin 14 is widened outwardly by a generally 3,203,004 Patented Aug. 31 1965 ICC triangular extension 28 from the normal vertical center line 29 which extends from a point 30 below button 15 and above the next lower button (not shown) to annular edge 20 to provide a wedge shaped expansion flap beneath the upper portion of margin 18. Intermediate point 30 and edge 20 and belowthe collar 22 is located a top-most fastening means or. button 32 which replaces the usual top button at the collar which is thereby eliminated from adjacent the top of margin 14. Button 32 is usually offset onto the extension part 28 from the normal vertically aligned buttons along margin 14 and engages with an elongated horizontal button hole 34 in margin 18 which permits the margins 14 and 18 to spread within limits without causing a gap between front sections 11 and 12 of shirt 10.

In FIG. 2 a dress type shirt having a panel 11 is provided with a collar 22 having a neck band 23, which neck band is attached to the top edge 20' of the panel 11' and is provided with an extension part 28 across the top of the extension 28, to complete the extended margin to the top edge of the shirt.

The shirt 10 may be collar sized with the sections 11 and 12 positioned as shown in FIG. 1 and the extension or flap portion 28 may be of a width to permit expansion up to a full size larger and may be located on either or both front panel sections 11 and 12. When a neck tie is worn with a shirt according to this invention, it will be noted that the collar size may be adjusted merely by loosening or tightening the knot in the tie so that the collar rests comfortably on the neck of thewearer.

The advantages of the above described shirt construction may be incorporated in a conventionally made shirt as shown in FIGS. '3 and 4. One'ftront section 40 of a shirt 42 is shown as having a neck band 44 to which collar 45 is attached. A triangular extension or flap 46 preferably of double thickness is stitched along the vertical edge 48 of margin 50. The normal top button is removed from its location on the neck band 44 and sewed onto flap 46 at 52 in a'location intermediate the second button 53 and the upper edge 54 of flap 46. correspondingly a horizontally elongated button hole (not shown), like button hole 34 in FIG. 1 may be provided on the overlapping section (not shown) for this button 53. This form of the invention produces the same resultant comfort to the wearer and can be used to extend the life of shirts that no longer fit properly.

In all forms of the invention, the usual top button is eliminated and the extension or flap has its widest portion adjacent the upper annular edge of the shirt and tapers downwardly to provide means by which a gap between the overlying margins is avoided when the shirt collar is adjusted or expanded to its maximum position. The upper buttonv and its cooperating button hole provide fastening means by which the margins are maintained in their overlapped position. 1

While there is described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shirt having:

a pair :of front panels,

overlapping margins on said panels,

a split collar, split at said margins of said panels,

a series of buttons along one of said margins, and

a series of corresponding button-holes therefor along the other of said margins, which said other margin overlaps said one margin, the improvement comprising:

the upper portion of said one margin extending inwardly further under said overlap at an angle upwardly from a point along said one margin below v a horizontally, extending topmost button-hole for said at least the topmost button of said series of buttons, t t b tt on th th d overlapping panel the topmost button of said series being below said collar Section having Said buttomholes, said topmost a mounted on q lnwardly eXteIldlng pp P ton-hole extending away from the margin of said [1011 Of Sald one mafgln, and 5 overlapping panel section from a point in alignment the button-Pole sald topmost button 9 with the majority of the lowermost buttons of said Sald series ,extendmg hor lzon tany away m Sald series when said overlapping margins of said sections other margin from a point In alignment with the are buttoned together majority of the lowermost buttons of said series when said margins of said shirt are buttoned together, whereby said collar may be increased in size without separating the upper portions of said margins of said whereby expansion of said collar size may be eifected 10 without producing a gap between the upper overlapping margins of said panel sections.

panels.

2. In a shirt having a collar, a pair of overlapping References Clted by the Examine; front panel sections, and a series of buttons and corre- 15 UNITED STATES PATENTS sponding button-holes along the adjacent overlapping 1729110' 9/29 Hirsch 2 116 margins of said sections, the improvement comprising: 1837998 12/31 Rosenblog'm X an overlapped extension on said panel section having said buttons, said extension extending upwardly at FOREIGN PATENTS an an le from a oint below at least the to most button of said serie s p 20 741,534 12/54 Great Britain.

said series of buttons having its topmost button spaced Y below said collar and mounted on said overlapped JORDAN FRANKLIN Primary Examiner angular extension, and 

1. IN A SHIRT HAVING: A PAIR OF FRONT PANELS OVERLAPPING MARGINS ON SAID PANELS, A SPLIT COLLAR, AT SAID MARGINS OF SAID PANELS A SERIES OF BUTTONS ALONG ONE OF SAID MARGINS, AND A SERIES OF CORRESPONDING BUTTON-HOLES THEREFOR ALONG THE OTHER OF SAID MARGINGS, WHICH SAID OTHER MARGIN OVERLAPS SAID ONE MARGINS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID ONE MARGIN EXTENDING INWARDLY FURTHER UNDER SAID OVERLAP AT AN ANGLE UPWARDLY FROM A POINT ALONG SAID ONE MARGIN BELOW AT LEAST THE TOPMOST BUTTON OF SAID SERIES OF BUTTONS THE TOPMOST BUTTON OF SAID SERIES BEING BELOW SAID COLLAR AND MOUNTED ON SAID INWARDLY EXTENDING UPPER PORTION OF SAI DONE MARGIN, AND THE TOPMOST BUTTON-HOLE FOR SAID TOPMOST BUTTON OF SAID SERIES EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY AWAY FROM SAID OTHER MARGIN FROM A POINT IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE LOWERMOST BUTTONS OF SAID SERIES WHEN SAID MARGINS OF SAID SHIRT ARE BUTTONED TOGETHER, WHEREBY SAID COLLAR MAY BE INCREASED IN SIZE WITHOUT SEPARATING THE UPPER PORTIONS OF SAID MARGINS OF SAID PANELS. 